Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday accused the BJP-led Centre of attempting to influence elections in Opposition-ruled states through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Addressing a meeting of Congress workers in Kodangal, Reddy alleged that the exercise was being used as a means to remove legitimate voters supporting the Congress ahead of the next Assembly election in Telangana.
Reddy claimed that the BJP had adopted similar tactics in other states and was now seeking to replicate them in Telangana. “The BJP won Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal elections by removing votes and is now adopting the same deceitful tactic in Telangana,” the Chief Minister said. He alleged that the revision process could disproportionately affect voters from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minority communities.
The Telangana Chief Minister said the Congress would actively resist any attempt to remove its supporters from the electoral rolls. “We will not sit idly and are ready to counter the BJP’s move to delete the names of the Congress supporters. The party workers will not tolerate any such attempt,” Reddy said, urging Congress workers to remain vigilant during the revision process.
Reddy also accused the BJP of using central investigative agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation, against political opponents during previous elections. He further targeted the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), alleging that the principal Opposition party in Telangana was indirectly supporting the BJP in efforts to remove Congress supporters from the electoral rolls. The allegations come amid heightened political tensions in the state over the voter-list revision exercise.
The final electoral roll under the Telangana SIR is scheduled to be published on *October 19*. However, the Telangana government is learnt to have approached the Election Commission seeking an extension of the deadline by three to four weeks. The revision process and the allegations surrounding it are likely to remain a major political issue as Telangana prepares for the next Assembly election.
